Here's Why Haulotte Group (EPA:PIG) Is Weighed Down By Its Debt Load

David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the permanent loss of capital.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We note that Haulotte Group SA (EPA:PIG) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Haulotte Group

What Is Haulotte Group's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of December 2020 Haulotte Group had €188.4m of debt, an increase on €179.1m, over one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of €26.2m, its net debt is less, at about €162.2m.

How Strong Is Haulotte Group's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Haulotte Group had liabilities of €137.1m falling due within a year, and liabilities of €162.2m due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of €26.2m as well as receivables valued at €126.9m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by €146.3m.

This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of €180.7m, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Haulotte Group's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.

We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

With a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 6.6, it's fair to say Haulotte Group does have a significant amount of debt. However, its interest coverage of 4.1 is reasonably strong, which is a good sign. Even worse, Haulotte Group saw its EBIT tank 64% over the last 12 months. If earnings keep going like that over the long term, it has a snowball's chance in hell of paying off that debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Haulotte Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Haulotte Group saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

To be frank both Haulotte Group's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow and its track record of (not) growing its EBIT make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. And furthermore, its level of total liabilities also fails to instill confidence. After considering the datapoints discussed, we think Haulotte Group has too much debt. While some investors love that sort of risky play, it's certainly not our cup of tea. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Haulotte Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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